Sliding Genioplasty Reversal

Q: Dr. Eppley, i would like to know if a 11mm advancement genioplasty could be reverse to 3-4 mm. I’ve had the procedure done about 3 month ago and I don’t like the result. I feel my chin is still swollen but I hate the fact that now my upper lip look thinner and my chin longer et my face more masculine. Will the soft tissue go back to normal after reversal? What are the risk? And how many time you have perform this type of procedure and what was the outcome ? Thank you!

A: A sliding genioplasty can be successfully reversed from 11 to 4mms. Th risks of the surgery are identical to what they were at the time of the original procedure, it is just the same operation with different direction of bone movement. It is probably best that you don’t take the chin all the back to its original position as the the recoil of the soft tissues is less assured. It is important to realize that not all of the soft tissues are going to return to exactly what they were before the original genioplasty procedure.

Of the many reversal sliding genioplastigs I have done (from 6 weeks after to surgery to 14 years after the original surgery), patients were happy to have less chin projection even if some of their soft tissues issues were not completely cured.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana